PET recycling creates most jobs, finds London Remade

London Remade's programme is run within the Greater London Authority's strategy for increasing recycling and the procurement of recycled products. The creation of jobs through an increase in recycling is one part of this programme.

The research, undertaken by Dr Anne Gray, a consultant on employment issues, looked at the employment impacts of recycling various types of material – through the collection, sorting, reprocessing and distribution processes. In other words, the number of jobs that are created from when the recyclables are collected, right through to a product being made from the material collected.

The number of potential jobs created through the increased recycling of PET plastic bottles is 14.27 per 1,000 tonnes compared to 1.3 for paper and card. This is because plastic bottle collection is so labour intensive and the plastic is more valuable.

Hugh Carr-Harris, London Remade's Chief Executive, said: “This type of research is crucial to reinforcing the economic and social benefits of recycling and creating a methodology that can be used by other organisations within the industry.”

Furniture recycling
Estimates of the potential jobs created per tonne of waste recycled, show a considerably higher job creation ratio for schemes that recycle white goods and furniture, than for the more familiar local authority 'kerbside' recycling schemes.
The research shows that jobs are created in the following ways:

• through the collection and sorting of waste;
• within the processing companies;
• through community recycling projects;
• in separate collection services run by local authorities or contractors;
• in the manufacturing, construction or horticulture enterprises using more recycled material.

Mr Carr-Harris concluded: “The recycling industry has a lot more to offer than just helping to reduce the level of waste going to landfill. The economic impacts of an increase in recycling can include a potential increase in jobs, training, and education opportunities not to mention the production of quality products that provide a 'greener' alternative and complete the recycling loop.”